Issues

Fiscal Cliff

Wyden voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[4]

Drones filibuster

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[5][6][7]

Wyden was the sole Democratic senator to join Paul in his filibuster. Democrat Dick Durbin also spoke, but only to ask questions and wasn't officially a part of the filibuster. Wyden said the following during the filibuster, "I want it understood that I have great respect for this effort to really ask these kinds of questions. And Senator Paul has certainly been digging into these issues in great detail." He went on to say, "The executive branch should not be allowed to conduct such a serious and far-reaching program by themselves without any scrutiny because that’s not how American democracy works. That’s not what our system is about."[8][9][10]

According to the website Breitbart, there were 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[11][12]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[13]

Elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Huffman (R), Bruce Cronk (Working Families), Marc Delphine (Libertarian) and Rick Staggenborg (Progressive) in the general election.[14]

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democrat

Ron Wydenincumbent

57.3%

825,507

Republican

Jim Huffman

39.3%

566,199

Working Families

Bruce Cronk

1.3%

18,940

Libertarian

Marc Delphine

1.1%

16,028

Progressive

Rick Staggenborg

1%

14,466

Total Votes

1,441,140

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Ron Wyden, click [show] to expand the section.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Al King (R), Dan Fitzgerald (Libertarian), Teresa Keane (Pacific Green) and David Brownlow (Constitution) in the general election.[15]

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

63.4%

1,128,728

Republican

Al King

31.7%

565,254

Libertarian

Dan Fitzgerald

1.7%

29,582

Pacific Green

Teresa Keane

2.4%

43,053

Constitution

David Brownlow

0.7%

12,397

N/A

Other

0.1%

1,536

Total Votes

1,780,550

1998

On November 3, 1998, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated John Lim (R), Jim Brewster (Libertarian), Dean Braa (Socialist), Karyn Moskowitz (Pacific) and Michael Campbell (Natural Law) in the general election.[16]

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

61.1%

682,425

Republican

John Lim

33.8%

377,739

Libertarian

Jim Brewster

1.6%

18,221

Socialist

Dean Braa

0.7%

7,553

Pacific

Karyn Moskowitz

2%

22,024

Natural Law

Michael Campbell

0.7%

8,372

N/A

Miscellaneous

0.1%

1,413

Total Votes

1,117,747

1996

On January 30, 1996, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Gordon Smith (R), Karen E. Shilling (American), Gene Nanni (Libertarian), Vickie Valdez (Socialist) and Lou Gold (Pacific) in the special election.[17]

U.S. Senate, Oregon Special Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wyden

48.4%

571,739

Republican

Gordon Smith

46.8%

553,519

American

Karen E. Shilling

2.2%

25,597

Libertarian

Gene Nanni

1.3%

15,698

Socialist

Vickie Valdez

0.7%

7,872

Pacific

Lou Gold

0.6%

7,225

Total Votes

1,181,650

1994

On November 8, 1994, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Everett Hall (R), Mark Brunelle (I) and Gene Nanni (L) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1994

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

72.5%

161,624

Republican

Everett Hall

19.4%

43,211

Independent

Mark Brunelle

6.1%

13,550

Libertarian

Gene Nanni

1.9%

4,164

N/A

Miscellaneous

0.1%

273

Total Votes

222,822

1992

On November 3, 1992, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Al Ritter (R) and Blair Bobier (L) in the general election.[19]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1992

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

77.1%

208,028

Republican

Al Ritter

18.6%

50,235

Libertarian

Blair Bobier

4.2%

11,413

N/A

Miscellaneous

0.1%

203

Total Votes

269,879

1990

On November 6, 1990, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Phil Mooney (R) in the general election.[20]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1990

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

80.8%

169,731

Republican

Phil Mooney

19.1%

40,216

N/A

Other

0.1%

246

Total Votes

210,193

1988

On November 8, 1988, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.[21]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1988

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

99.4%

190,684

N/A

Other

0.6%

1,141

Total Votes

191,825

1986

On November 4, 1986, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Thomas H. Phelan (R) in the general election.[22]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1986

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

85.9%

180,067

Republican

Thomas H. Phelan

14%

29,321

N/A

Other

0.1%

193

Total Votes

209,581

1984

On November 6, 1984, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Drew Davis (R) in the general election.[23]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1984

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

58.7%

173,438

Republican

Drew Davis

41.3%

122,247

N/A

Other

0%

27

Total Votes

295,712

1982

On November 2, 1982, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Thomas H. Phelan (R) in the general election.[24]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1982

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wydenincumbent

78.3%

159,416

Republican

Thomas H. Phelan

21.7%

44,162

N/A

Write-in

0%

84

Total Votes

203,662

1980

On November 4, 1980, Ron Wyden won election to the United States House. He defeated Darrell R. Conger (R) in the general election.[25]

U.S. House, Oregon District 3 General Election, 1980

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Wyden

71.9%

156,371

Republican

Darrell R. Conger

28%

60,940

N/A

Write-in

0.1%

112

Total Votes

217,423

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Ron Wyden is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Ron Wyden raised a total of $11,989,158 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 19, 2013.[26]

Ron Wyden's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2010

U.S. Senate

$6,930,089

2004

U.S. Senate (Oregon)

$5,059,069

Grand Total Raised

$11,989,158

2010

Breakdown of the source of Wyden's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Wyden won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Wyden's campaign committee raised a total of $6,930,089 and spent $8,520,594.[27]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Wyden missed 84 of 5,470 roll call votes from Feb 1996 to Apr 2013, which is 1.5% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.[29]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Wyden paid his congressional staff a total of $2,668,805 in 2011. He ranked 25th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranked 63rd overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Oregon ranked 21st in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[30]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Wyden's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $14,965,048 and $61,776,002. That averages to $38,370,525, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,450. His average net worth increased by 460% from 2010.[31]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Wyden's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $5,734,033 and $7,960,004. That averages to $6,847,018.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2010 of $19,383,524.[32]

In the 2012 list of the 50 richest members of the 112th Congress, Wyden was ranked in the top 25. The list is published annually by Roll Call: The Official Newspaper of Capitol Hill Since 1955, and is based on a methodology that uses financial disclosure forms to approximate the minimum net worth of Senate and House legislators.[33]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Wyden was ranked the 17th most liberal senator during 2012.[34]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Ron Wyden was ranked the 17th most liberal senator during 2011.[35]

Voting with party

2013

Wyden voted with the Democratic Party 91.5% of the time, which ranked 38th among the 53 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.[36]

Personal

Wyden currently resides in Portland, Oregon. He and his wife, Nancy Bass-Wyden, have three children together. He also has two children from his first marriage.[37]

Recent news

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